Numbers: Apr. 5, 2004

2019 Year that Medicare's hospital trust fund, which pays for inpatient hospital care, will run out of money, according to a new government report

7 Number of years the fund's projected life span has been shortened since the report's last estimate, one year ago

$151 million Amount bet on the NCAA basketball tournament in Nevada in 2003

$3.5 billion Estimated annual amount bet illegally on the tournament

2.5 billion Gallons of water it would take a day to support 4.7 billion people at the U.N. daily minimum

2.5 billion Gallons of water used a day to irrigate the world's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!